SGW+FAQs

Welcome to the Shanghai Goes Wild FAQ page. I hope that most of your questions regarding the project can be answered here. For any questions that aren't feel free to add them here or email me directly - jeff.dungan@saschina.org

Click on the links below to skip down to the questions you have.
 * How does it work?**
 * Due dates, What due dates?**
 * Is this project safe for my Students?**
 * I see my teacher page, now what am I supposed to do there?**
 * What kind of software do I need to participate?**
 * Do we need to use the computer to do our drawings?**

**Ok, I read the intro on the home page but I am still a little unclear how the project will work. Can you explain it again?**
Sure no problem. Here is how it will work. Follow the steps below and you should be all set 1. If you do not already have a wikispaces account now is as good a time to get as you'll ever have. click HERE to register 2. At the top of this wiki (doesn't matter what page you are on) in the upper right hand corner click on the "Join" link to join this wiki and to be able to make edits to your page. **If you do not join and request membership to the SGW wiki you will not be allowed to make edits or upload media to your page.** 3. Go to the Particpation Page and add your class information on the appropriate grade level table. 4. Once you register, you will be given a wiki page. This page is where you will enter your kids names (please first names only) and eventually upload your documents and drawings. Go to your own wiki page and add information about your class, your kids, etc. It is your wiki page so make it your own. Have fun with it. 5. Once you get your partner class, email your partner teacher and introduce yourselves. You might make more specific due dates for your two classes if you want, but that is up to you to decide 6. Once you are registered you can have your kids start their writing about their monsters. Yep, you can have them start even before being assigned a partner class. Keep checking back to the wiki to see who your partner class will be. Remember writings can be about insects or animals, real or imagined but most of all they need to be **DESCRIPTIVE!** 7. Start talking. Use the discussion tab at the top of your page or your partner's page to get your kids talking to one another. Of course, this is optional, but the real value of any collaborative project is in the conversations 8. Check the File Uploading Directions page to make sure you are using the correct naming conventions for your word files and student created images. 9. When kids finish their writing they will need to use a digital drawing application (web based or installed software, it doesn't make a difference). Once these drawings are done they will be saved as .jpg files and uploaded into your class table by you or your tech integrator into the table on your class page along with each student's writing sample. 10. **Post your students writings into one single word document** and upload that onto your wiki page. Go to your partner's page and download their writing descriptions. Distribute these writings among your students, 1:1. Some students might get two descriptions if class size between partner classes doesn't match perfectly. 11. Have students draw their partner's monster. Save these files as .jpgs files and upload them to the table on your partner's class page. Even better, have your tech integrationist assist you with this one. 12. Revisit your wiki page to see what your students' partners drawings look like of your students' writing descriptions. Carry on or start student conversations using the discussion tab at the top of your wiki page to have student reflect on the project, their writing, their drawings, or anything they want. 13. Get ready to do it again in 2011!!

**Due dates, What due dates?**
Yep, just like paying your taxes there are due dates for the SGW project. Here they are:
 * Feb 28th**-All classes are signed up on the participation page. If you have not received a partner class by this date, you will have it by March 1st.
 * April 30th**-All Class writing samples are completed and have been combined into one word document per class. **This document needs to be uploaded on an your** **class's wiki page no later than April 30th.** Also your students' drawings of their own monsters should be posted by April 30th
 * May 15th**-The drawings of your partner's animals/insects should be uploaded to your partner's class page in the table next to the corresponding student. Reflections can take place before after May 15th depending when your partner class finishes their drawings of your students' monsters.

The wiki that the SGW uses is a protected wiki. Edits to pages can only be made by people who have requested and been granted access to the wikis (participating teachers and tech integrators). Also, this project adheres to COPPA - Children's Online Privacy Protection Act. Therefore, students' first and last names should not be placed anywhere on the wiki. At SAS we use a naming convention for all students to keep student identity private. If you notice first and last names being used on the SGW wiki or any suspicious or inaapropriate content, please notify jeffdungan@saschina.org immediately.
 * Is this project safe for my students?**

Your teacher page is yours so add an image of your class if you want or introduce yourselves so your patner class knows who they are talking about. Remember, please keep your students' identities private by not using full names. First names only are fine. Also on your teacher page you will see a table. This is where you will upload your students descriptions and their photos. If you need more information on using the table or how to name/upload your documents, please refer to the File Uploading Directions link on the left.
 * I see my teacher page, now what am I supposed to do there?**

You will need a word processing application. Most anyone will do-MS Word, Pages, Google Docs, etc. The only requirement for your word processing application is that you can save your documents as a .doc file. This is very important! For the drawing, you can use anything you want as long as you can save/exprt images out of the application or website as a .jpg file. Students here at SAS have used KidPix and MS Publisher, among others.
 * What kind of software do I need to participate?**

Absolutely not. Paper and marker/crayon/colored pencil drawings are just fine however these will need to be scanned and saved as a .jpg file in order to be uploaded to the wiki. Since this is a 21st century writing project, we urge you to use the computer to have your kids do their drawings on. Besides your kids loving to draw on the computer, you will like it because it saves you the step of having to scan a whole class set of images.
 * Do we need to use the computer to do our drawings?**